American ice hockey player Brady Tkachuk says he cannot appreciate an AI video released by the White House that insults Canadians.
Tkachuk appeared on Sunday for the U.S. team against Canada at the Winter Olympics, giving the U.S. men their first gold medal since 1980. Following the victory, the White House TikTok account released a video of Tkachuk saying, “There were boos during the national anthem, so I had to come out and teach those maple syrup-eating motherfuckers a lesson.”
Tkachuk never said those words, and the video, which has been viewed more than 10 million times, has been labeled as AI-generated.
“Well, it’s obviously fake because it’s not my voice and my lips aren’t moving,” Tkachuk said Thursday. “I don’t control those accounts. I know those words will never come out of my mouth. So there’s nothing I can do.”
There are good reasons for Tkachuk to distance himself from video. That’s because he plays in Canada’s capital and is captain of the Ottawa Senators.
“That’s not my voice. That’s not what I said,” he continued. “I would never say that. That’s not me. That’s why I don’t think I like that video, because nothing like that would ever come out of my mouth and I would never have thought anything like that.”
President Donald Trump called the U.S. team after his victory, and some say they could hear Tkachuk yelling “close the northern border” as the president congratulated the team. He denied those claims Thursday.
“I’ve seen what people think is me, but if you watch the video, you’ll see that’s not my voice or what I never said,” Tkachuk said. “I don’t know how it just turned into a storm on its own when I’m doing my best here. It’s crazy how fast things go on social media. I would never say anything like that.”
The aftermath of President Trump’s phone call was captured on video, but it doesn’t end there. The president was accused of making a joke at the expense of the women’s team during a phone call when he invited the men’s athletes to the White House to celebrate their gold medal.
“I have to say, we have to bring the women’s team. You know that,” Trump said with a laugh, adding that if he didn’t, “you’ll be impeached.” Some players laughed at the joke. The American women also won a gold medal at this year’s Olympics.
On Wednesday, U.S. women’s captain Hilary Knight called the joke “offensive.” On Thursday, Tkachuk said he understands why Knight and his teammates are insulted by Trump’s comments and the reactions of some players.
“I mean, I get it,” he said. “We support them and they support us. You can’t control what other people say. It was fun to be around them and watch them play and see the excellence around them. If you meet one of them, you talk about the excitement of what we can control. That’s the gold medalists.”
Tkachuk said his teammates’ laughter at Trump’s comments may have been because they were caught off guard. “Ten minutes after you achieve your dream, you’re talking to the president,” he said.
Tkachuk was among 20 U.S. male athletes who visited President Trump at the White House after his victory and attended Tuesday’s State of the Union address. The women’s team declined the invitation, citing travel and scheduling issues.
“It was special,” Tkachuk said of the visit. “As an American citizen, I never thought I would ever visit the White House or go to the Oval Office.”
The women’s team has not yet decided whether to visit the White House (President Trump mentioned the plan in a speech on Tuesday, but nothing has been confirmed), but they are said to have accepted an invitation from rapper and female sports enthusiast Flavor Fluff to attend a Las Vegas event celebrating their gold medal.
Flavor Fluff posted the invitation shortly after the women declined the State of the Union trip. The team accepted his invitation without input from USA Hockey, but it’s unclear whether all players will participate, according to the Associated Press.
